Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com)
Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Booker (OG)
First Round
On injured reserve for the next month
Grade: 65.0
Donovan Ezeiraku (DE)
Second Round
For Donovan Ezeiruaku, the plan this week is to take the next step. The open door against the Jets is the left edge. Olu Fashanu has sprung leaks this year and allowed 15 pressures in three games, fourth-most amount all offensive linemen. This is where you throw the kitchen sink when it comes to Ezeiruaku and give Fashanu some inside counters, and twist games that force him to sort fast. Give Ezeiruaku 20 or more true pass snaps on Fashanu’s side and he bags his first NFL sack.
For Ezeiruaku, the usage has been climbing since Week 1. The arrow is pointing up for him as each week continues, and with more trust from the coaches comes more chances, that means more likelihood of that first sack.
His biggest issue comes from Justin Fields. He’ll extend, he’ll improvise, he’ll also hold the ball for too long. The coaching point for Ezeiruaku will be don’t be a bull in a china shop here, it’s stay aggressive and then squeeze late when the chance comes. Close the exits and those off-schedule scrambles turn into long third-downs where he can then deliver the final blow.
Grade: 56.4
Shavon Revel Jr. (CB)
Third Round
Currently on Non-Football injury list (NFI)
Jaydon Blue (RB)
Fifth Round
With Miles Sanders’ injury from the Green Bay game, there’s a real chance we get to see Blue get called to action this week. Keep an eye on the injury report here at BTB and any updates that follow this week.
Grade: N/A
Shemar James (LB)
Fifth Round
In his debut, James came off the bench and logged five tackles against Green Bay. He was fairly assignment-clean with 26 defensive snaps that didn’t look too big for him. That’s the tape that gets a rookie more work the following Sunday, so here we are.
The Jets are a top-10 rushing team, so beating split-zone and fitting inside-out matters more than the blitz for James this week (although this Cowboys defense could do with some blitz packages to help). Next, spy work, and James has the speed and agility to fit the role. That would mean James not looking to sprint to nine yards and create lanes, stay patient and let Fields’ long clock work against him. With James there spying and mirroring Fields movement that will make him hesitate a little more and allowing more time for the pass rush to get where. Finally, find Breece Hall and chase him down quickly, he has the tackle radius to match any stretch plays or screens that go Hall’s way. This is not the game to be playing Jack Sanborn with his lack of speed, this linebacker needs juice, something James has plenty in the bag.
Grade: 49.8
Ajani Cornelius (OT)
Sixth Round
Inactive
Grade: N/A
Jay Toia (DT)
Seventh Round
Inactive
Grade: 30.2
Phil Mafah (RB)
Seventh Round
Inactive
Grade: N/A
Green Bay Packers
Armand Membou (OT)
First Round
Rookie right tackle Armand Membou has come flying out of the tunnel. He’s living in the elite category for pass protection, checking in with a 96.7% pass block win rate which ranks 14th among all tackles, while keeping his sheet tidy with only one sack allowed and no penalties so far this season. For a first-month rookie, that’s not hype, that’s craftsmanship.
His power travels, too. Membou isn’t just a wall, he’s a snowplow. PFF grades slots him at sixth-best among tackles in run blocking with a 79.0 grade. For a Jets offense that wants to stay on schedule for Justin Fields and Breece Hall, pointing the run behind him is a perfectly good plan. He creates early-down creases, manageable thirds, and helps put play-action on the board for the offense.
Membou’s counter is technically sound and he’s put that on tape all month. He’s shown patient sets, heavy inside hands, and has rarely had to panic. If he holds up again this week, the Jets get to play their version of on-schedule football, and a first-year right tackle stays one of the safest bets on the field.
Grade: 76.6
Mason Taylor (TE)
Second Round
The Jets didn’t draft Mason Taylor to be used lightly. They took a second round swing on the 21-year-old seam-stretcher with NFL bloodlines and look for him to stress safeties, not stand around. He’s answered by muscling his way into a real slice of the passing game on a thin depth chart last week, and the usage arrow is pointing north.
Taylor had a career-best five receptions for 65 yards against Miami, showing soft hands on the quick stuff and enough stride to tug the safeties inside. What that means this week for Dallas is if Taylor blocks with a hint of last week’s form and keeps finding those soft-zone perches, he can be the metronome this Jets offense needs. And if the Cowboys lose him near the pylon? Don’t be shocked when the rookie’s first score shows up in next week’s highlight reel.
Grade: 54.0
Azareye’h Thomas (CB)
Third Round
Azareye’h Thomas showed up from Florida State looking like he was built in a lab for press coverage. He’s long, smooth, and unbothered. As a third-rounder he’s slid neatly into the Jets’ rotation behind Sauce Gardner and Brandon Stephens, mostly outside with a side gig in the nickel. The staff trusts the trajectory even if the stat line hasn’t caught a flight yet.
The fit against Dallas is why you draft his body type. Those limbs are made to smother slants and digs, the Cowboys’ key routes. He can win at the top of the route, not just the release and squeeze throws to the sideline. With New York leaning more into man since Thomas arrived, his skill set syncs with the Cowboys’ condensed splits. And if nothing else we get to see a brotherly hug when both him and Juanyeh find each other before the game.
Grade: 76.4
Arian Smith (WR)
Fourth Round
The Georgia burner has slid into New York’s wide receiver rotation as the designated oxygen thief. Watch for him to open throttle and get wide-open down the seam. Early returns look exactly like the scouting report with quieter snap counts some weeks, but every target feels like a fire alarm. He doesn’t need volume to matter, he needs one step.
When the Jets use Smith as the speed decoy with jet motion or bunch releases, the Cowboys have to declare leverage or risk losing him past the numbers. Push the help to Garrett Wilson and double team him, and Smith gets the single he wants outside, or spin a safety late, and he’s already even on the post.
Smith is the sprint button in a Jets offense that wants to stress you horizontally with Hall and vertically with Wilson. If New York times the shots and Smith makes those important catches, Dallas’ secondary could be in trouble again this week.
Grade: 48.1
Malachi Moore (S)
Fourth Round
The Jets grabbed Alabama’s field general and dropped him straight into the rotation with some strong safety and some nickel snaps so far this year. He’s looked the part taking clean pursuit angles and steady eyes while snuffing out the ball carrier. It’s not loud yet in the box score, but the coaching staff keeps handing him real responsibility. That tells you more than any early stat line.
Moore’s edge is that his compass doesn’t budge. Keep the roof on, keep the communication loud, and make Dallas earn it the long way. Do that, and the rookie walks out with a tape that plays in every meeting room on Monday.
Grade: 53.0
Francisco Mauigoa (LB)
Fifth Round
The Jets dropped the rookie into the linebacker rotation and told him to hit the gas, then hit somebody. He’s brought the same see-ball, beat-block vibe from college to Sundays with fast feet and he’s already earned real defensive snaps while still doing the grimy special-teams stuff coaches love.
This matchup against Dallas is tailor-made for a downhill rookie with turbo legs. Keep the eyes honest on play-action, finish clean in space, and time the tackle right and Mauigoa walks off with solid tape, and Dallas walks off the field more often than they planned.
Grade: 58.9
Tyler Baron (DE)
Sixth Round
The rookie edge Tyler Baron brings premium length, heavy hands, and versatility, with the ability to play all across the defensive line. The Jets traded up to get him, and his role has been creeping up in rotation. That’s exactly the arc you want for a Day 3 pass rusher who’s quite toolsy.
Baron is an athletic defender and will look to attack Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele, and finish when the pocket resets. His snap count is still modest at only 50 total snaps, and that means he’s only managed to get two total pressures this year. But that’s more a testament of the guys ahead of him on the depth chart, which is great place to be while learning the nuisances of the position.
Grade: 50.1
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